McCarthy ally reveals why he is voting to remove his ‘friend’ from the speakership
October 03, 2023 01:09 PM
Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN) addressed his decision to support the resolution ousting House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) from his leadership post ahead of Tuesday’s vote.
Burchett expressed his disappointment that McCarthy relied on Democratic votes to pass a temporary 45-day funding measure over the weekend that fended off a government shutdown and said GOP lawmakers are not delivering on their campaign promises.
DEMOCRATS HAVE A CHOICE TO MAKE ON MCCARTHY’S SPEAKERSHIP TOO
“My thought process is like this: Kevin McCarthy is my friend, and I hate to lose him as a friend, but I had the choice between that and my conscience and what my conscience tells me to do,” Burchett said in a video posted on X, formerly known as Twitter. “My conscience tells me that we’re $33 trillion in debt.”
Burchett, who considers McCarthy a “friend,” voted to elect him as House speaker at the start of this year, voting for the California Republican all 15 times, unlike other Republicans who pledged to vote to oust him, who were part of the speakership holdouts in January.
“At some point, we just got to say enough is enough, folks,” Burchett added. “I hate losing Kevin as a friend, but I worry about losing our country in all sincerity. We are rapidly approaching that point.”
Burchett said there is no sense of urgency in the House currently, noting they have 42 days to pass numerous appropriations bills, but members have yet to hold a meeting on the budget, warning the country could “face financial ruin.”
The Tennessee Republican highlighted a conversation between him and McCarthy last week in which the House speaker expressed his desire to keep his seat.
“I talked to Kevin last week. The last thing he said was, ‘I really want to be speaker.’ And folks, it’s got to be more than that. We’ve got to save our country,” Burchett said. “That’s why I’m going to vote the way I am from hell or high water. I realize I’ll catch on all sides and it might cost me my job.”
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Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) filed a motion to vacate his seat on Monday, and at least four other Republicans have said they plan to vote to remove McCarthy, including Reps. Burchett, Eli Crane (R-AZ), Bob Good (R-VA), and Andy Biggs (R-AZ).
McCarthy said he’ll bring the vote to the floor on Tuesday, and because the resolution declaring the speakership vacant is privileged, this is an inevitable step. A floor vote to oust McCarthy would require a simple majority to succeed: 218 House votes. McCarthy could attempt to delay or kill the vote with a motion to table, but that also requires a majority of House votes. The vote is expected shortly after 1 p.m. EDT.